Michael Dwyer/Associated PressChris Douglas-Roberts, pictured playing against the Celtics earlier this season, says he's getting back into a groove and doesn't have any knee pain.

Contrary to popular belief, one can find positives from a 1-3 road trip.

And even if that requires you to continuously pound your head into a cement wall -- just to remember that it's supposed to be a journey of discovery for young teams such as this one -- knock yourself out.

So, as the Nets arrived home Tuesday, they took some solace in the possibility that they may have found another player to bring to the rotation party.

They always regarded Chris Douglas-Roberts as an interesting player, one whose game has a unique rhythm, yet with intensity lags. But for the first time this season, the rookie actually turned potential into production in back-to-back games.

So if the rookie's challenge is learning how to do it again, Lawrence Frank is going to make it easy for him:

"He has to be one of those guys who -- as soon as his number is called -- he has to impact the game," the coach said. "That motor has to be running. It's a big adjustment for a lot of players, but especially a rookie.

"He's got great role models off the bench in Keyon Dooling and (Eduardo) Najera. Even if they make mistakes, they're aggressive mistakes. That's what Chris is learning -- how to get that motor going right from the start. And that's a big adjustment for a guy going from 35 minutes in college to being out of the rotation the following year."

In Memphis Saturday night, Douglas-Roberts had his first shot blocked just seconds after checking into the game in the second quarter. But he kept looking for his shots, and found them -- a reverse double-pump, a 19-foot pop, and an up-the-ladder baseliner fell on his next three touches, helping the Nets maintain their lead.

It didn't hurt, of course, that he had 12,000 people cheering for him in his old college town.

Two nights later in Oklahoma City, he didn't hit the floor until garbage time, but it was an interesting garbage time: He led a group that shoveled in 24 points in just 6 1/2 minutes, making a 30-point blowout look respectable on the TV crawl.

"Honestly, that score doesn't matter to me with the minutes I'm playing," Douglas-Roberts said. "Some games I might not play, period. I have to find a way to be productive, and I just set out to compete whenever I get in.

"And I'm starting to feel healthy and get back in the groove I was in early in the year, with no (knee) pain. Whatever chance I get, I have to compete, and that's not going to change whether the minutes are low or high."

The opportunities, however, may remain few and far between. There are three guards ahead of him, and he's going to have to have impact to keep the coach's attention. Everybody has advice. Rod Thorn says he has to become a knockdown guy from 20 feet. Frank said it's a question of intensity. Dooling believes his future could be at point guard.

Given the injuries the Nets have suffered at that position this year, perhaps that last idea can't be discounted. So says the starting point, anyway.

"With the league the way it is now, he can definitely run an offense," said Devin Harris, whose team often runs the dribble-drive system that Douglas-Roberts played in college. "He specializes in the open stuff -- he knows it better than me. And he does a lot of things I do out of the open with the drive-and-kick game."

But it remains to be seen, Harris agrees, whether the 6-7 rookie has a point guard mentality. He has scoring instincts, and he doesn't show the quickness to defend the one-spot.

Still, the last two games have made some cogitate the possibilities.

"We know what he's capable of doing. But he has to be a little tougher, and show that he wants it," Harris said. "We've seen what CDR's capable of in preseason, but he has to be a little more tough-minded. He's a rookie, and sometimes he doesn't do too well dealing with inexperience and the coaches. But he's talented, and if he's patient and works at it, he can get on the floor."

"The way we play, he's a guard whose greatest strength is that he can score," Frank said.

"Down the line, if he continues to progress and continues to go through what a lot of rookies do, he can come off the bench and give you scoring. He's able to get his own shot, he has a competitive streak to him on the offensive end. He has to learn all the different parts of the game. But down the road, he'll get you points off the bench."

For his part, the rookie is all for anything that gets him on the floor more often.

"The coaches tell me, the more versatile you are, the better you are," Douglas-Roberts said. "So I get a lot of reps in at the point, and a lot of reps at the 3, too."

NOTES

The first exit poll is in: Pacers coach Jim O'Brien told the Indianapolis Star-News Tuesday that he voted for Harris on his All-Star reserves ballot.

The Nets host Toronto Wednesday night. Wear a football jersey, get a discounted ticket.

Brook Lopez was informed of the veterans' demand for a team-wide attitude change, and was asked where it should start. His reply: "Before we get on the court ... like, breakfast?"

From the Things Could Be Worse Dept.: A year ago Wednesday, the Nets were dealing with a nine-game losing streak and the first public admission from Jason Kidd that "It's time for us all to move on."